What is Art?

I’m of the opinion that the word “art” can really refer to anything that was created. Distinctions such as “good art” and “bad art”, machine-made and handmade, man-made and God-made may certainly be drawn, but essentially I believe everything is art. One can hardly distinguish between a gorgeous sunset and a masterful oil painting of the same scene in terms of value or quality—there’s just as much to admire about the image, such as stroke, color, and skill, as there is the real thing, which is here only for a moment, while the image lives on.

What makes art “art” is, I believe, its ability to impact us. Art can draw out our emotions—the work of the impressionists was once labeled “schizophrenic” and “obscene”, but has since become the very image all that is “serene” and “tranquil.” And that’s another great thing about art, the variety of interpretations and reactions it can generate.

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Art can be beautiful and cherished, or it can be repulsive; art can inspire us or capture our imagination; it provokes us to thought and animates us.